The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a study to determine the scope of potential opioid misuse and inappropriate prescribing by Emergency Department (ED) providers. The researchers used overlapping opioid prescriptions, overlapping opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions, high daily doses, use of long-acting/extended release (LA/ER) opioids for acute pain, and overlapping LA/ER prescriptions as indicators of potential inappropriate use. Analysis of data revealed that 7.7% had high daily doses, 2% had overlapping opioid prescriptions, 1% had overlapping opioid/benzodiazepine prescriptions, 21.7% had LA/ER opioids for acute pain with 14.6% overlapping, and 10.3% had at least one of the indicators.

The researchers concluded that potentially inappropriate prescribing should be more closely evaluated to improve patient care and reduce misuse and integrating prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) data into the ED’s work process could be a valuable tool.